The Light's Blessing
by Makesushi
Summary: Antheia knows she isn't technically allowed to be interfering in the lives of mortals. In her isolation she finds Thedas 'through the looking glass' and with prompting from her tricky brother, she agrees to step in. What her father doesn't know won't hurt him. It's time for the people of Thedas to have a little divine intervention.


"No!" I slapped my hand against my forehead and sighed, watching that sad elf ruin the entire world. "Look at what you've done!" I screamed at the Looking Glass, whapping my hand against the glass. "You've ruined a perfectly good world! Look at it! It has The Blight!" I heard the door to my chambers fly open and I quickly turned the glass off and stood up from my chair.

My brother smiled nastily at me, shaking his head. His black hair tied into a high bun, his green eyes dancing with mischief. He walked closer to me and crossed his arms behind his back. "Antheia, come away from there," he said. "You wouldn't want father finding out about this, would you?" He asked slowly, his smirk a familure, and cruel stamp.

"Alright, listen up you little snake-"

He snapped his fingers and the words froze on the tip of my tongue. He walked further into my room and turned me around by the shoulders. We looked into the Glass together and my brother reached out a hand and touched it. I watched it shimmer as a scene from the world I had been observing played. The elvhen man who became Inquisitor stumbled out of the Rift and was captured by guards. My brother slid his finger across the reflective edge and moved their world forward by about a month in their time. It was a scene that I never remembered seeing. I thought I'd seen...everything. Every path that world would take.

"I don't remember this," I said.

The Herald was down on his hands and knees in some kind of a temple. His head raised up as a scream of rage tore through his throat. My brother chuckled and stopped them again. "You can help them, you know you can. You might not have the same powers as the rest of us, but you still have plenty of power to lend your aid to these sad, pathetic, mortals you watch so closely. All you'll have to do is take a step through that mirror, and reveal yourself to them."

"Where is that place?" I asked, running my fingers along the Glass, outlining the temple walls.

"He calls out to false gods who cannot hear them from their prison. Wait...and watch a moment..." The scene started playing again.

Inquisitor Eirlen Lavellan beat his hands against the ground, his white hair plastered to his face. One of his companions called his name, but he didn't turn around. They had been walking for days and had come no closer to finding what they were looking for. "What are they looking for?" I asked.

"They search for an ancient weapon that they could use to defeat the Magister. I've created an alternate timeline, where you might actually be able to save that stupid world."

I looked at him suspiciously. "What are you getting out of this?"

My brother chuckled. "I think it might be fun, watching you try and maneuver one of the mortal worlds. So...what do you say, sister? Shall I open the portal for you?" He asked.

"Well...I suppose..."

"Fantastic!" He said, clapping his hands together, a giddy laugh escaping his lips.

I felt a strong shove at my back and I was falling through the Looking Glass. As I fell, the colors changed and I was suddenly standing in a dark, musty temple. I must have made quite a sight. I appeared in the room with a bright flash of white and gold with my white tunic flowing around me. My brother appeared next to me and reached into his satchel, pulling out a longbow. "Here is the weapon that can save the world." He handed it to me and poked my nose. "You finally get to be the ancient hero that you always used to envy, sister. Perhaps, our father might even take notice of you."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Where is the Inquisitor?" I asked. "Where is the rest of his party?"

My brother smiled wickedly and touched the center of my forehead. My entire body instantly turned to marble, but I could still see, despite that. I could feel the bow was still in my hands. "They'll be along in...oh...fifty thousand years or so." He winked at me. "Now, all that's left is to leave a prophecy with one of those foolish mortals. You know how wild they get when they hear those. Maybe the wolf will hear it? Oh wait, he hasn't been born yet." He hummed and chewed on his thumb. He shrugged. "I'll just drop it off at a temple somewhere. Don't worry my sweet sister, they will find you eventually."

My brother walked slowly around the cave that had become my prison. He cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered quietly, so the message could be placed in the ears of whoever would spread his word over and over for thousands of years. "When the sky is torn asunder and when the world is wrought with chaos, an elvhen man will rise and bare the mark that will save the world. At that time, a guide will take him to the cave of the sleeping maiden. He will take the weapon from her, and release the goddess from her prison." My brother laughed and leaned against my frozen form. "Hope you like counting sheep," he said, before snapping his fingers and disappearing. Leaving me alone, to curse his name.

'Damn you, Hermes,' I thought.

* * *

 **Year 10**

The hardest part about this entire situation is that I can't move. It is so mind-numbingly boring and I cursed my brother constantly for not letting my mind slip into sleep. My only company is the occasional animal that stumbles into the cave and dies because it can't find its way back out. I am still able to use my powers over flora, so I could at least grow plants and watch them. My only entertainment.

I was going to lose my mind within fifty thousand years.

I wondered if my father noticed I was gone. I'm sure a few of my siblings must have, but my father hardly ever even spoke to me. In my long life, I'd had three conversations with him. So I very much doubted that he knew anything was amiss. I would have sighed, but air couldn't pass through my stone lips. I couldn't even turn my head to look at the rest of the cave.

 **Year 100**

I tended to drift in and out of consciousness. While I could not fall into sleep, I did have moments where I was less aware than others. A wolf wondered into my cave and gave birth to six pups. I used my powers to make sure the mother was comfortable while she was in labor. She nursed her pups. When they were slightly older, she would leave to hunt and then would return to feed the small creatures that waited for her. They stayed with me for almost a year. Then when they left, I was abandoned to my lonely solitude once again.

One of the wolves returned three years later, to birth her own set of pups. Then they left again.

There was a storm, mighty and terrible. The entire cave filled with water, killing my plants and casting me into darkness.

 **Year 500**

The water eventually receded and I could finally grow again. It was never cold in my domain. Always, perfect and warm. I had nothing else to do other than to garden and think.

And I thought a lot.

I thought about my brother, Hermes. I couldn't tell if him leaving me in this world was cruel amusement or an act of kindness, freeing me from my gilded prison. It didn't really matter.

 **Year 10,000**

A person walked into the cave. She was soft looking, she moved as if she walked on air. Her hair curled around her shoulders, an ebony black that shimmered in the dim light. A figure so beautiful that Aphrodite would have gone mad with envy if she saw her. The woman sat down and tucked her legs under her, pushing a lock of her black hair out of her face. Her pointed ears were pierced with golden earrings. She closed her eyes and laced her long fingers together.

"Creators, I pray that you forgive me," she whispered. "But I will not marry June. I know it is an honor to be pledged to one of the gods as a bonded, but I do not love him."

I felt for her. I let soft flowers grow around her and she laid her head down and fell asleep. She stayed in my cave with me for two years, coming and going often, returning with dead animals or supplies to make the area more livable for her. I grew food for her, and she would sing for me. Then the peace was interrupted by men dressed in silver armor stormed in, pointing long spears at her. She screamed, standing up and running away from them. I let the vines curl around the intruders and killed them before they could do any harm to the girl. She looked between me and the dead men.

"Thank you," she said, dipping her head in a respectful bow. She looked at me and traced my marble cheek. "You have guarded me here, what is your name?" She asked. I couldn't answer, obviously, so she chuckled softly. "I should have guessed. Thank you, for protecting me as long as you have. I have to go...they found me, and I have no idea how."

I watched her destroy the home she had made for herself. I tried to wrestle with my own body. I wanted to stop her from leaving, but I couldn't leave. I gave up when I saw that she already had her small sack packed with her possessions. I allowed an apple tree to grow and she looked at it in shock. It grew bright golden apples and she took seven. The apples wouldn't rot, and one bite would be enough for her to live off for a week. A gift from the gods to the woman who was my only company after so many thousands of years.

I watched her go, and I felt my heart starting to crack as I saw her back.

 **Year 25,000**

I learned how to stop being conscious. I could go years without being aware of anything at all until something living entered my cave. However, when I woke, I would instantly be able to tell how long I had been 'out.' I could finally distance myself from the horrible feeling of loneliness. But I did enjoy it when an animal would stumble in and wake me. I always made sure to feed them before they left, if they could eat what I could grow.

 **Year 45,000**

Something was wrong. I was woken by a burst of energy that seemed to shake the very ground I stood upon. I felt like I was being strangled and I couldn't even breath. I knew that must have been the sad elf erecting the veil. He destroyed his home, his people, and would destroy the world again if given half a chance. It stirred determination within me. I knew he would be entering into a deep slumber. I was given a sense of determination not to give up. My wait was mostly over. Just a few more thousand years and I would be freed. Then I could help the Inquisitor save the world, return to Olympus and beat the shit out of Hermes. I'd tell Ares what he'd done, and maybe convince him to lend me his spear for a few hours.

Did any of my other siblings notice I was missing?

I entered back into my state of unconsciousness.

 **Year 49,300**

Something interesting was happening. Four men in green armor fell into my cavern, breathing heavily. One of them was obviously injured. They sat around, and passed a water skin between them, while one attempted to set the broken leg of the injured man. "What do you think that is?" A tall elvhen man said, pointing at me offhandedly.

The only woman of the group stood and looked me over. "Its a statue of a human woman, I guess," she said with a shrug. "It must be those human's precious Andraste." She rolled her eyes hard enough that I thought she might have given herself a headache. "Perhaps we should destroy it?" She raised her sword and grinned in petty delight.

"No," an older man said, holding up his hand. "This statue has great historical significance to the elvhen people," he said. The other three looked at him in confusion and he huffed. "Honestly, you young people," he shook his head and took a drink of the water he was given. "It has been passed down from before the days of Arlathan that this woman holds in her hands the weapon that will one day save the world from some great calamity that will put all living creatures in great danger."

"I think I've heard of her," the injured girl said, looking at me with bright eyes. "My grandmother said that she's a goddess who has been imprisoned here."

The first woman rolled her eyes. "You can't truly believe that horse piss, right?" She asked.

"Well maybe, I do," the girl said defensively. She looked at me and smiled. "Hello there," she said with a wave. "Excuse me, ma'am but I have a request if you don't mind," she said. The young man and the other woman both laughed at her, teasing her for talking to a statue so earnestly. She rolled her eyes and ignored them. "My companions and I are members of a group called the Emerald Knights. Our people are being attacked in an Exalted March from human forces because we won't bow to their god. We have no food and very few weapons. Would you please...help us?" She asked, her hands clasped in front of her.

How could I deny a request like that?

I concentrated and let four apple trees spring from the ground, the same golden apples grew there as the kind I made for my companion so long ago. I heard the elves gasp. The young man even screamed in surprise. They all turned to me with large eyes. I then had wood sprout from the ground, twisting into dozens of weapons. Swords, bows, daggers. It took so much power to do it, but when I was finished, the gapping look on their faces was worth the effort. The weapons were all made from wood, but they would work better than any steal they could find.

The woman who had tried to destroy me reached out a picked up one of the swords. She ran her fingers along the sharp edges and hissed in pain when it cut her fingers. She grabbed a cloth from her pack and held it against her bleeding hand. "What the fuck just happened?!" She asked, her voice shaking.

"She hears us," the old man said, standing up. He bowed his head to me. "We thank you, my lady." He turned to the others. "We need to gather these gifts up and take them back with us. Come, work quickly."

They took everything that they could carry with them, which was most of it. Then they left quickly and I allowed myself to fall back into slumber. When I woke next, it had only been a handful of years since I last woke. The same woman who had requested my assistance stood in front of me with a smile. She dropped to one knee, placing a fist over her heart.

"My lady, I have come to thank you," she said. She raised her eyes to me. "I have come to tell you that we were victorious in our efforts to fend off the humans who were attempting to take our land from us. We continue to defend ourselves from Tavinter invaders. In every battle we fight, the weapons you gave us end the battle before it truly begins. It as if whoever wields them has the blessings of the creators. Many are saying that you must be a goddess spoken of in that old tale from long ago. Whatever you may be, I thank you for the blessing you have given to the elvhen people."

I wished I could tell her to rise. There was no need to bow to me.

"We are a free people. We have named our country Or'las'len. It means 'Of Hope For Children.' No longer are we a people scattered to the wind. Now we are the empire that we used to be. And we owe it to you.

 **Year 49,700**

I was hardly left alone. From that point on, it seemed that the Elvhen people made me their chief deity. There were priests and priestesses who would come and tend to me, every day. They kept the plants I grew neat and tidy. They would request food from me, whenever there wasn't enough to go around. They turned my dingy, lonely cave, into a temple of rich and natural beauty. I even received a visit from their king one afternoon.

He introduced himself as Fen'an Lavellan and he told me that he was worried about being a father. He was worried that he wouldn't be 'any worth.' He prayed to me, begging me to grant him wisdom to be a good father. I couldn't do that, but the fact that he was so conscious of his actions, proved that he already had pleanty of wisdom to spare.

 **Year 50,000. 9:41 Dragon.**

Everything stopped in my temple one day when a burst of energy blasted through our very souls. They all scrambled around trying to figure out what was happening. It was nine days later when word came of the destruction of the Temple of Sacred Ashes in Fereldan. There was only one survivor, third prince Eirlen Lavellan. There was a Mark on his hand that could seal the Rifts that had opened up all around Thedas. He had been knocked unconscious when he had closed the first, and most powerful, Rift. He was the only one who would be able to stop the Breach from destroying the world. He joined an organization called the 'Inquisition' that had dedicated themselves to stopping the chaos that threatened to destroy everything. The Elvhen man who rose up to save the world.

The people in my temple grew mad with giddiness. Eirlen was returning home with a small party for a few days for three reasons. One, the assure his family that he was alive. Two, to seal the Rifts that had opened up around his homeland. Then the third reason, the first item on his list, was to come and take the bow from my hands and release me from my prison.

He was coming back to set me free.

By the gods, I couldn't wait to see the sun again.


End file.
